Safest Place
by Sonnielion
Summary: {Fallen Angel AU} It wasn't every day that an angel fell for a human. Figuratively and literally. But then again, it wasn't every day that an angel had amnesia either.


**Author's Note:** So, this is one of many fanfics/ficlets I'll be writing and redoing to push myself to write. I decided that ItaHina needed some love, so here it is. Also, I already have an idea of things that may happen in the future for this story, but I'm going to let the story write itself. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Oh, and if a particular character doesn't have a canon surname, I may give them one. Anyways, cheers.

* * *

He was at it again.

Sasuke could only roll his eyes, heaving a sigh as he approached his elder brother from behind as quietly as he could. Once he was close enough, he peeked over his shoulder into the viewing spot below, recognizing the dark-haired girl immediately.

"Itachi, _again_?" the younger male frowned, exasperation evident in his voice as he watched his elder brother turn around slowly to look at him. This had been the seventh time Sasuke had caught him staring at the human girl within the last two days. Each of those times, Itachi had a small frown etched on his face before it melted away to his usual placid expression as if he was trying to hide something. "What's so interesting about the girl that you have to keep watching her? What? Are you in love with her or something?"

Sasuke knew he wasn't going to get an answer; not with the uninterested look on the elder male's eyes anyways. He followed after Itachi when he moved away from the viewing spot, the image of the dark-haired girl fading as soon as they walked away. Still, Itachi said nothing and went along carrying business as usual. But Sasuke wasn't going to let this subject drop. Not this time.

"You're lucky it's me that's catching you and not anyone else like Tobirama," he warned, his face still in a frown as he stared at the other male's back. "You know if they catch you obsessing over a human and bring it to Hashirama's attention, you're going to end up f-"

"I know what will happen, Sasuke," came Itachi's curt reply, his tone brisk and impatient as he continued on walking.

"You obviously don't if you keep looking for her. I'm not the only one who's noticed your behavior. Shisui, Tsunade, _and_ Kakashi know that something is wrong with you, and if you're not careful, they're going to bring it someone else's attention."

"I'm aware."

"Then why do you keep doing it!?" Sasuke practically growled, his voice a harsh whisper as he openly glared at his brother. "What's so good about that human that you feel the need to watch her? It's not like she's yours to protect. That's Kagami's job."

Itachi stopped in his tracks then and turned his face slightly towards Sasuke's direction, annoyance dancing in his gaze as he stared at him through the corners of his eyes. After a few seconds, he turned back around and teleported away, leaving a frustrated Sasuke behind.

He screamed out of irritation.

For being someone so wise and one of the most prized warriors in all of Heaven, his brother was an idiot.

* * *

What was he going to do?

Itachi's mind was rushing with a myriad of thoughts as he wandered aimlessly near the gates of Heaven. He was... experiencing conflicting emotions and that _never_ happened to angels. Well, that is to say, it _shouldn't_ happen. Angels were supposed to be loyal to heaven and remain loyal. They were to do as they were told. They were not allowed to have conflicting feelings about anything. And they most certainly were not supposed to _think_ about acting on their emotions.

Not unless they wanted to become one of the fallen and become hunted like the rest of the demonic scum that prowled in the shadows of the human world and thrived in Hell.

Not unless he wanted to be like Madara.

The dark-eyed male practically shuddered at the thought, recalling how fierce the battle between Madara and Hashirama had been eons upon eons ago. Heaven had practically been divided with a fairly large faction siding with Madara while the rest had remained loyal to their God, Hashirama. In the end of it all, Hashirama had won and sent Madara along with his followers straight to Hell. Heaven had never been quite the same after that.

Which is why despite his annoyance, Itachi understood his brother's concern.

Heaven had grown more rigid with its rules and the angels became more apathetic than ever. Sure, the angels were capable of experiencing _some_ emotion, but they weren't as free as the humans were when it came to things like that. They couldn't experience anger, frustration, love, admiration, and other emotions like the humans could. And even if the angels could, they weren't allowed the freedom that humans had.

If Itachi was honest, he'd have to say he was fascinated by the humans and something close to envious of them for this freedom. Since his creation, he'd never known what it was like to feel something from your very soul. All he knew was loyalty and apathy; the few sparks of emotions he and the rest of his angel kind felt could hardly be called "feeling."

Perhaps that's why he was so drawn to _her._

A hint of a smile tugged on the corners of his lips as he thought of the human woman he'd become so accustomed to watching, a sense of warmth filling him as all his thoughts became enveloped by her. Her name, he remembered, was Hinata Hyuuga and she was teacher to children. She was a gentle soul who wore her heart on her sleeves and cared for everyone. And although she was kindhearted and nurturing, she was also a very strong and stubborn individual. To add to that, he found her to be aesthetically attractive as well.

She fascinated him to no end.

The dark-eyed angel could still remember when he first met her.

* * *

He had been sent to the human world to accompany his friends and fellow angel brethren, Shisui and Kakashi, during a particular task. They were to eradicate a group of demons that were possessing the bodies of children and return once the job was finished.

The job had seemed simple enough. The demons were hardly a threat to any of the three of them. They were practically vermin. However, one of the children being possessed so happened to belong to a popular daycare, and an unexpected problem arose.

The child had been in the daycare when the long-haired angel had finally tracked him down. Apparently, the angel's presence caused the demon to awaken and things went south from there. The demon began attacking other children within the daycare using its host, cries and shrieks of horror and pain filling the small building as the children fled the room. And unfortunately for Itachi, the demon had nestled so deeply into the child that he couldn't so easily destroy the damned thing without causing severe harm to the child.

To his surprise, he got an opportunity to act thanks to the child's teacher. As odd as it seemed, she managed to incapacitate him with a hug. The child thrashed about wildly in the woman's arms, clawing deeply into the skin of her arms and kicking her with reckless abandon. Unfortunately for the demon, she simply refused to let its host go no matter what he did. Frustrated and angry, the demon pushed her with incredible force against the wall, jumping out of the child's body with every intention of taking over the woman's body.

At the very last second, Itachi acted and destroyed the demon with a blast of light, nothing but ash remaining of the damned being. With a quick flutter of his wings, his attention then turned to where the woman had been thrown against the wall, only to be surprised by the fact that she was staring at him. _Right at him_.

"W-W-Who are you?"

Her opalesque eyes were focused on him and he found himself transfixed by her gaze. Humans weren't supposed to be able to see them; not unless they wanted to be seen, at least. Yet this human woman could see him despite the fact that others couldn't. It was puzzling and it made him feel unusual. What was he to tell her? Nothing, that's what.

The angel remained quiet, his face calm and devoid of emotion like normal as he approached her. Crouching down in front of her, he very gently touched the side of her face with his hand, earning a surprised noise from the woman while she tightly shut her eyes. A faint glow cloaked over her entire being as he healed her, the bleeding gashes on her arms and bruises on her body evaporating into nothing, leaving absolutely no trace of ever existing. He then removed his hand from her and got up, moving over to the once possessed child and gently touching his forehead.

"What are you doing to him?!" came the soft feminine cry, panic and fear lacing her voice.

"Showing him mercy," Itachi stated curtly, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. "He won't remember this or the demon that was possessing him. It will be as if it never happened."

"D-Demon?"

He didn't answer her. Couldn't answer her.

At that moment, Shisui and Kakashi arrived. Itachi quickly briefed them on the situation before they vanished, only to reappear a few seconds later. They had gone to heal the other children and make them forget about the events that had occurred only moments ago just like Itachi had done. With a snap of Shisui's fingers, the daycare had returned to its previous state, as if nothing had ever happened there. Now that everything was restored to order, Shisui and Kakashi vanished, leaving Itachi to catch up. But before he could go, the woman spoke again.

"W-Wait! Please wait!" she called out to him, scrambling up to her feet and moving closer to him. "Thank... Thank you."

His response was an imperceptible nod to which the woman smiled at him for, her eyed glassy with tears.

"I... I didn't know what was happening and I... I-I am most grateful for what you did," she whispered with a faint blush dusting her cheeks, bowing her head slightly to him in thanks. "My name is Hyuuga Hinata. And you are?"

He was silent, finding himself staring at this baffling human woman in amusement. Itachi's lips quirked up a bit at the corners, turning around and walking away towards the entrance. However, before he took his leave, he looked back at her for a quick moment.

"Itachi."

Then he vanished, leaving Hinata behind to stare at the space we once stood.

* * *

That had been some time ago, Itachi realized then. When he thought about time in human terms, it would probably equate to somewhere around three years. It seemed like hardly any time at all for him; it would feel that way for any angel really. But time was entirely different in the human world and he had to constantly remind himself of that.

Briefly, he wondered if the woman remembered him. He would think she would considering what had happened, but from what he had observed of humans, they were fickle and forgetful creatures. There was a chance she was hardly any different from them, but there was a small voice in the back of his mind that clung onto the hope that she did.

He wanted to see her.

But was it exactly worth the chance of falling?

"Ah Itachi, there you are."

The long-haired angel snapped out of his thoughts quickly, turning to find Kakashi with his typical expression of mild amusement. Why the silver-haired angel wore a mask, he would never know. Although, it had been rumored for ages now that he was so beautiful that Hashirama requested he hide his face to keep the other angels from worshiping Kakashi for his beauty. Itachi, of course, was skeptical of such a thing.

"You were looking for me?" he asked, although the even tone in his voice made it sound more like a statement than an actual question. "Is there something you need?"

"As a matter of fact, Tobirama wants a group of us to check out some unusual demonic activity," Kakashi drawled, rubbing the back of his neck with bland annoyance in his voice. "Demons have been showing up in this little town called Konoha. It seems as if they're searching for something."

The dark-haired male made sure to remain unaffected physically at the mention of the town. That was Hinata's home. "And I suppose we need to discover exactly _what_ they're looking for?"

"Exactly. That's why I came looking for you. Sasuke, Tsunade, and Jiraiya are also coming. But..." the light-haired angel paused, cocking his head to the side and stared at Itachi as if to observe him. "I was thinking of perhaps asking Shisui instead of you. You haven't exactly been yourself lately. You almost seem... distracted by something."

Itachi quirked an eyebrow, challenging Kakashi to say something further. When the other angel said nothing else, he let out an inaudible sigh as he returned to his usual apathetic expression. "I'm not distracted. I'm merely... concerned by the sudden influx of activity coming from the demons."

"Oh good. Well, you're not the only one concerned then," Kakashi chirped, a hint of amusement glinting in his visible eye. "Well, I suggest we meet the others then. We leave immediately."

* * *

"Sensei! Konohamaru-kun pinched me!"

"Moegi-chan pinched me first!"

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Sarutobi-kun, Hayashi-chan, what did we say about fighting and shouting?" Hinata asked calmly, handing out snacks to the other children in the classroom as she stared at the bickering duo.

"Shouting isn't meant for the classroom," Moegi murmured, pouting a bit as she stared up at her teacher.

"And if we fight with each other, you're going to tell our parents," Konohamaru finished, a light frown marring his face. "But if ya tell on us, we're gonna get in trouble!"

"Then you shouldn't be fighting with each other in the first place. All you're doing is hurting one another," the dark-haired woman calmly scolded, kneeling down to the children's eye level. "You two are friends. You don't actually want to hurt one another, do you?"

Both children shook their heads.

"Of course not. Moegi-chan's cooler than the other girls anyways."

Hinata couldn't help but smile at the young boy, lightly ruffling the top of his hair before handing the two their snack. "Good. Now here's your afternoon snacks. No more fighting, alright?"

"Yes, sensei!" the two children agreed, running off in search of their bespectacled friend, Udon.

The bluenette teacher stood up then, picking up around the daycare and preparing the next activity for the children. Working at the small daycare kept her fairly busy during most of the day, leaving only the evening to herself. But regardless, she really did love working there. She had the opportunity to work with all these wonderful little children, and she got the chance to teach them about different things. Besides, she had already been at this daycare for about five years now and she was more than happy with the job.

A sudden beeping from her pocket called her attention, prompting her to reach for her phone. Upon unlocking her phone, she found that she got a text message from her good friend, Gaara, asking to meet up for coffee after work. With a light blush dusted over her cheeks, she quickly replied to confirm before setting her phone back in her pocket.

He had only gotten back to Konoha a few weeks ago. He usually came around in the summers before going back home to Suna, but he had recently decided he wanted to move here. She had, of course, been ecstatic because it meant one of her close friends would be nearby now, and they would get the chance to spend more time together. It had absolutely nothing to do with the budding crush she had on the redhead. Absolutely nothing.

Mentally, Hinata scolded herself for acting like such a teenager. She was twenty-six now, so why was acting like this? It had to be that she hadn't gotten a chance to actually see Gaara since he came back. Or at least, that's what she was telling herself. Or maybe it was the fact that she hadn't really crushed on anyone since she crushed on Naruto since high school.

A face flickered through her mind then, framed by long hair and dark endless eyes. Her heart skipped and her face pinkened before she shook her head, lightly frowning at the suddenness of that memory. The name of this man was on the tip of her tongue, but she refused to say it. Why did she suddenly think of that man?

Pushing that thought to the side, Hinata returned her thoughts to happier things like Gaara and his wild siblings that would no doubt come to visit more often now that he lived in Konoha. She couldn't wait to see him now. They had so many things to catch up on.

Today had suddenly become one those times that she wished work was done sooner.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you for reading! If you guys want faster updates or want to talk to me about stuff, you guys should totally look for me on Tumblr: kickingoffwithayang. tumblr. com


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